Images of students in reopened schools in South Korea show a glimpse of new normal amid pandemic

• Classes have resumed for high school seniors in South Korea on May 20, while classes for other grade levels are set to resume in stages.
• Schools have put measures in place to ensure maximum distance between students.
• All school staff and students were also advised to wear masks and anyone who enters the school premises are checked for their temperature.

Schools in South Korea have been preparing to resume classes in stages, with high school seniors being the first to return to school in the country.

On Wednesday, the students waited in line in front of school gates to get their temperature checked and sanitize their hands one by one.

The Korean CDC (KCDC) had stressed the importance of continuing to adhere to social distancing measures to prevent infections in schools.

Some measures included rearranging desks and chairs in classrooms and cafeterias to ensure maximum distance between students.

Some schools put up partitions in the cafeteria and advised students to refrain from chatting with friends during recess.

All school staff and students were also advised by the KCDC to wear masks in school and follow personal hygiene measures like coughing into their arms and regularly washing hands.

Anyone who enters the school premises should be checked for their temperature. Anyone with a fever of at least 37.5 C or has any COVID-19 symptoms will be transferred to the nearest COVID-19 test site via ambulance.

KCDC Director Jung Eun-kyeong said on Wednesday, “When someone inside the school is confirmed [with COVID-19], all staff and students will be sent home wearing masks, while local authorities and a task force team get to epidemiological investigation and disinfection.”

Classes resumed for high school seniors on May 20. Classes will then resume for first, second, ninth, and eleventh-grade students a week later. The rest will resume classes in the following weeks of June.

Each school has been advised to operate in a flexible manner to maintain maximum distance between students.

The Education Ministry suggested measures such as starting classes at different times and utilizing online lessons.

Source: ABC News